Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks Wednesday at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C. Blanche was officially sworn in as attorney general Monday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, was sworn in as U.S. attorney general on Monday, making the role he's held for several months official.
Blanche succeeds Pam Bondi, who was fired by Trump in April. He took over as acting attorney general and was officially confirmed in the role by the U.S. Senate, which voted 50-49 to confirm him early Saturday.
"I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation's 88th attorney general," Blanche wrote on social media Saturday after the vote. "I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to finish the process."
The vote was largely along party lines, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voting with every Democrat against Blanche. While other Republicans, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Bill Cassidy, R-La., had expressed concerns about Blanche's independence and earlier actions, they voted for him anyway.
